


A Lighter Highway (The Cliff, Shag, and Marry Remix)

by inksheddings



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-18
Updated: 2011-04-18
Packaged: 2017-10-18 07:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/186436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inksheddings/pseuds/inksheddings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter who or what becomes a part of Goku's life, he wants it to be worth the effort, not just a boot to the head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lighter Highway (The Cliff, Shag, and Marry Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caeseria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caeseria/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Marry, Shag or Cliff](https://archiveofourown.org/works/84878) by [Caeseria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caeseria/pseuds/Caeseria). 



> Thanks to Caeseria for the inspiration. I hope you enjoy what I did with your story. I truly loved working with it.
> 
> More thanks to the most magical beta being ever, whymzycal!
> 
> A part of the title was taken from lyrics to Elton John's "Friends."

_"On a silent cliff-edge, an unknowing plant blooms …" ~ Rainer Maria Rilke_

It wasn't that Goku was all that embarrassed by his current predicament. He'd both seen and heard Gojyo do his best — or his worst, depending on your point of view — to pick up all sorts of women over the years, after all. But this? This?! Was a little much.

"Yeah, baby, you feel so good," Gojyo said as Goku cringed under his blanket, pulling the scratchy wool a little tighter around himself. "Gonna make sure you feel so much better before I'm done with you."

This was all Sanzo's fault. Okay, it was Goku's fault for pissing Sanzo off enough that he'd switched the sleeping arrangements around and made Goku tiredly drag himself down to what used to be Gojyo and Hakkai's room. But it definitely wasn't Goku's fault that Gojyo was stupid enough not to notice him sleeping in the bed right freaking next to his! If that's what women did to your brain, Goku wasn't sure he wanted much to do with them. Well, not _this_ much, anyway.

Goku wondered if there was any way he could leave the room without them noticing. They were awfully distracted. The woman had started making these short, breathy sounds that reminded Goku of a bad case of hiccups he'd had once after eating too much _guo tie._ Okay, maybe he was a little embarrassed, but only on the woman's behalf.

"Hurry, Gojyo," the woman whispered. "Your brown-haired friend with the weird glasses — you're not sharing this room with him?"

She sounded a little panicked, and Goku couldn't blame her. Goku loved the occasions he got to room with Hakkai, but he didn't suffer Gojyo's hook-ups lightly. Quietly, but never lightly.

"Nah, don't worry about him, sweetheart. He's too busy with that card game. It'll be at least a couple of hours before he's done cleaning up with that bunch."

Okay, now maybe Goku was a little bit embarrassed for Gojyo. If that cucumber-dicked kappa thought a card game, no matter how profitable it might be, would keep Hakkai from harassing Gojyo out of any possible conquests … Goku choked down a snort of laughter with great effort.

The woman's own laughter was cut off by Gojyo kissing her. Gojyo kept groaning through the wet smacks and the woman kept on hiccuping, and then the bed began creaking rhythmically and Goku tried, he really _tried_ to just ignore it and fill his mind with visions of meatbuns and star-filled skies and the one time he'd made Sanzo laugh hard enough the shock of it actually left Goku speechless … but then Gojyo flung one of his boots across the room and it landed on Goku's wool-covered head.

"OWWWWW! Leave me out of your perverted sex games, jerkwad!" Goku yelled. He only refrained from chucking the boot right back at Gojyo out of fear he'd accidentally hit the woman — the woman Goku could hear scrambling out of the bed and heading for the door.

"Sex games?! I'm not into that!" She huffed as she opened the door, allowing light to enter the room. Goku could see Gojyo sitting up on his bed, one boot off and shirtless, pants down around his knees. He was surprised to note that Gojyo's dick did not so much resemble a cucumber as the eggplant Hakkai was so fond of cooking.

The woman didn't even bother to shut the door on her way out, but Goku still felt the tension leave his body, grateful that the awkwardness was over. Well, for him at least. As for Gojyo …

"You fucking idiot monkey-brained waste of a sex drive! What the fuck are you doing in my room?! No, no way! Sha Gojyo does not lose a chick because of a pipsqueak ape with fish balls instead of hairy ones!"

Goku, all embarrassment tossed out the window now that it was just him and the kappa, finally allowed himself to let loose a bark of laughter at the sight of an enraged and half-naked Gojyo, kneeling on the bed, clearly illuminated by the light coming from the inn's hallway.

Gojyo flung his arm out and pointed at the doorway. "Fix this!"

Goku snorted and rolled over to go back to sleep. "Screw you, Gojyo. I wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last man in the world. I'd sooner chuck you over a cliff."

*****

 _"When you're just shagging girls, you can talk about it, but once it gets real, then you don't." ~ Stephan Jenkins_

About a week after the "unfortunate nocturnal incident" with Gojyo, as Hakkai referred to it, the four of them found themselves camping out near a stream that had a nice population of carp. Gojyo was out collecting firewood while Sanzo was quickly burning through the few cigarettes he had left. Hakkai and Goku had made their way to the stream with makeshift fishing poles and were currently relaxing on the bank. They'd already caught two fish each, and anything else would simply be a bonus.

"While I don't have any bok choy, I could still probably make up a batch of those fish balls you're so fond of, Goku."

Goku cringed ever-so-slightly, suddenly thrown back to last week and a half-naked Gojyo. Goku didn't understand why, but he'd been thinking a lot about that night. Not about Gojyo — hell, no! But about what had led up to that particular situation — sex. Gojyo had wanted it, the woman had wanted it, but at the time Goku had just wanted to sleep.

Lately, though, Goku found himself thinking about the sounds they'd been making, the obvious sign of Gojyo's desire (as all-too-clearly shown through the open doorway), and how pissed off the woman had been when it all went to hell. Her and Gojyo, well, they hadn't even known each other. How could either of them have been so upset over not getting laid by a perfect stranger?

Not that Goku never looked at girls, of course he did. He'd even found himself appreciating the occasional guy. And, yes, he'd jacked off on the few rare occasions he'd had privacy for more than ten minutes. But he'd never want to have sex just to get it over with, just because. He'd rather do it with someone he at least liked. And to like someone, Goku figured, you kinda had to know them.

There was a tug on Goku's line, which brought him back to the here and now. As he started reeling the fish in, he glanced at Hakkai, who was looking at him far too carefully.

"Nah, that's okay, Hakkai. Let's just grill 'em, like usual."

Hakkai put his own pole down and helped Goku place the newly caught fish in the bucket of water with the others. "I think that'll do for dinner and breakfast. They're nicely sized. You know, Goku, it's a tedious existence we are often forced to endure. Each of us has his own way of passing the time, of trying to keep busy."

Goku's brain had to scramble for a moment to catch up with what Hakkai was likely talking about. Goku wanted to just forget about it, but Hakkai's small smile was kind and Goku found he couldn't look away.

"I'm happy to grill for you, Goku, like usual. But if we ever manage to come across some lovely bok choy, the fish balls would most certainly be worth the effort."

And yeah, that was just it. Whenever Goku decided that sex would make its way into his life, he wanted it to be worth the effort, not just a boot to the head.

Goku smiled back at Hakkai. Before he could say anything, Hakkai's discarded fishing pole nearly disappeared into the water with whatever monster carp had apparently taken the bait. Goku and Hakkai both made a grab for the pole, and their hands tangled as they managed to pull one last fish out of the stream.

Hakkai's hands were warm and his laughter bright. Goku knew Hakkai pretty well, he thought, and he really liked Hakkai, but …

"Let's just grill 'em. That's what I'm really in the mood for anyway." Goku couldn't help but feel the grin reach from ear to ear.

Hakkai's answering smile was breathtaking. It ran a close second to the one Goku had once pulled out of Sanzo.

One day he'd like someone enough and know them enough to want to have sex with them. But for now, with a friend like Hakkai around, Goku figured he was doing just fine.

*****

 _"You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry the person whom you cannot live without." ~ Unknown._

Goku was going to worry a hole through his sleeve. He knew it without Hakkai having to give him that pointed look of his, but he couldn't help it. He _was_ worried.

This last batch of youkai had been particularly nasty, and Sanzo had taken the worst of it. He was still unconscious, despite all of Hakkai's efforts, and Goku wasn't going to stop worrying until Sanzo woke up and yelled at him.

So Goku kept working at the thin cotton of his shirt and wouldn't budge from Sanzo's side long enough to even take a piss. Nope. He wasn't moving.

Finally, Hakkai gave a gentle squeeze to Goku's shoulder and left them alone under the shade of the hackberry tree, making his way to check on Gojyo. Sanzo's head lay on a thick blanket, the weather not so cool as to require more than his robes to keep him warm. Goku wanted to put Sanzo's head in his lap, but he was afraid of jostling his injury too much in the process, so he sat close enough that Sanzo's hair brushed against Goku's hip.

Sanzo had never been much one for conversation, but he'd always been far from quiet. Whether he was grumbling, growling, griping, or making that fan of his whack loudly across the back of Goku's head, Sanzo was rarely silent. The last time Goku had been without the sound of Sanzo had been back in the cave.

Goku felt his thumb push through his sleeve with ease. He reached out and took hold of Sanzo's robe instead, which was grimy and far from white, but still soft and strong.

They were almost to India, and Goku wasn't so stupid as to think that things weren't about to get a whole lot harder and more dangerous than they already were. Any one of them could get killed, and in less pleasant ways than just a bad conk to the head. Goku was actually okay with the idea of dying — but only if it meant Sanzo lived. This was the wrong way around, Sanzo lying on the ground and Goku unable to do a thing to wake him up. What use was Goku's strength if not to give it to Sanzo?

So Goku was doing the only thing he could, staying put at Sanzo's side, hoping that would be strength enough — and annoying enough, even to a knocked-out Sanzo — to keep Sanzo alive and wake his monk-ass up.

Goku leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes. He pushed and pulled gently at Sanzo's sleeve until he could wrap his fingers around the thin arm. Still soft, still strong. Goku wouldn't be able to nap, didn't want to either, but he could feel Sanzo's pulse and that was encouraging, at least.

If Goku couldn't hear Sanzo, feeling him was the next best thing.

"Le' go o' me, ya 'etty 'ed 'diot."

Goku sat up straighter and conked his head against the tree in the process, but who the hell cared about that?

"Whadja say, Sanzo?" he asked, gripping Sanzo's arm tighter.

"I said, _Let go of me, you sweaty-palmed idiot!_ " Sanzo wasn't exactly yelling yet, but it was still the best sound Goku had ever heard.

Hakkai was making his way over, so Goku did let go of Sanzo's arm — not really because Sanzo had demanded it, but because he figured Hakkai would need room to check Sanzo over good and proper.

No, Goku wasn't afraid of dying, not really. But no matter what happened in India, good or bad, he'd never stray from the sound of Sanzo's voice — in life or in death.

 

 **end**


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